Sergei Lukyanenko - The Genome

Janet frowned. “Now that is strange, Captain. Are you saying she’s been pre-programmed with some knowledge of history?”

“Yes.”

“And not just military history, but the cultural realm?”

“Exactly. She didn’t recall Alexander the Great or Kutuzov, or Moshe Dayan, or Lee Dong Hwan, or Mbanu.”

“You consider him a great commander?” Janet grinned wryly. “In reality, his glory is slightly exaggerated—he wasn’t the one who made the main decisions; it was his flag-officer… Well, that’s beside the point… You amaze me, Captain. It really is a strange education for a spesh.”

“And there’s one more thing, Janet. How sexual are the fighters?”

“Same as ordinary people. They are not hetaera-speshes, after all.”

“Well, Kim is… how should I put it… a bit oversexed.”

“Captain, as far as I understand, you helped the girl out of trouble, got her through metamorphosis… now you’re getting her onto the ship. Couldn’t this be a very natural reaction on her part? A crush on the heroic pilot-spesh, a desire to have him, to win his love in return… A mixture of gratitude and calculation?”

“It didn’t look like it, Janet. Last night, the girl offered herself to me. I wasn’t really against it…”

“I can imagine,” Janet chuckled. “I’m sorry, please continue…”

“I suggested that she wait a while… After the metamorphosis, the body should have time to rest.”

“That’s reasonable.”

“We went to a restaurant. It was all very nice. Kim behaved as though she was a member of the highest aristocracy… she was a little flirtatious with me, nothing more than that. But when we got back to the hotel, the whole thing started up again. Changing into her pajamas turned into a strip tease. A couple remarks about the weather got her started telling erotic stories straight out of her own limited experience. Then she offered me a few fun diversions.”

Janet was silent. Looked at the test tubes, got up, started rummaging through her vial rack.

“I’ve had a few dealings with hetaera-speshes,” said Alex. “It’s an expensive pleasure, but every now and then you indulge yourself…”

“So?” Janet poured the remnants of blood from the syringe into a clean test tube. Threw in a few tiny crystals from a vial.

“I could swear that Kim is specialized as a hetaera—that besides being a fighter-spesh, she is also a courtesan-spesh. Is that even possible, from a medical point of view?”

“It’s difficult, but it is possible… Very difficult, Captain. The hetaera’s body modification is minimal, but the psychology is changed completely. A fighter has to kill, with no scruples, no hesitation. Kill anyone who can be defined as an enemy. A hetaera has to love. Really love—selflessly, purely… to give herself to love completely. And at the same time, to be able to step aside, to forget her love, as soon as her services are no longer required. It would be very difficult to combine the two specializations, Captain.” Janet shook a test tube side to side in the air. “It would be more reasonable to suppose that after the metamorphosis, her hormones were out of balance…”

“Well, if we remember history… back when all people were naturals, they somehow managed to combine many roles. Napoleon was a great military leader, right? And at the same time, he was quite a womanizer.”

“With all due respect, Captain, that’s nonsense. In the past, there were people who might today be described as speshes. Military leaders, womanizers, scientists, artists. But every spesh today is a result of the most complex genetic alteration. All the unnecessary stuff is eliminated. Let’s take you, for example—you’re incapable of love, right?”

“Right.”

“By the same token, a fighter might be capable of love, but only to the ordinary human degree. There!” Janet lifted a test tube containing a few drops of pinkish liquid. “You see that?”

“What does it mean?”

“Modified pheromones. One of the characteristics of a hetaera. To be completely sure, it would be best to test for the VIII-Operon, responsible for hyper-sexuality, but I don’t have the right serum…” Janet put aside the test tube, rubbed her forehead. “You’re right. I’m wrong. Kim is both a fighter and a hetaera. Most intricate work!”

“But who would need such a combination?”

“There are several possibilities. To make a female bodyguard, for instance, one who would also be able to provide sexual services. It would be very expensive, very complicated, almost foolish… but possible. It’s not right, Captain…” She looked at Alex gloomily. “Do you understand what has happened? And what the consequences may be?”

“Not just yet.”

“Kim has fallen in love with you.”

“So it seems, but…”

“A hetaera has to achieve reciprocation! Do you see? That’s her specialization. Her reason to exist!”

“I don’t intend to keep her away permanently, Janet! If it’s so important for Kim…”

The doctor sighed.

“It’s not sex that she needs, Captain. To be more precise, it’s not just sex and not only sex! She wants you to fall in love with her!”

“But I’m incapable of that.” Alex threw up his arms. “If something’s not given, it’s not given. I understand that love is a wonderful, pleasant, sacred feeling…”

“Pleasant…” snorted Janet. “Ah, Captain… sometimes I envy you pilots, incapable of love…”

“Maybe Kim could fall in love with someone else?” Alex suggested tentatively. “Puck is out of the question, but what about our young engineer?”

“That would be nice. Let’s hope that her specialization as a fighter will distract her from the hetaera part of herself. But you made a very dangerous and painful step for everyone involved when you took the girl under your wing.”

“I realize that already.”

“Shall I issue the certificate?” asked Janet bluntly. “Or is it not worth it? You could still give her some money and let her fend for herself.”

“It’s too late for that. Go ahead and issue the papers.”

Janet nodded, as if she had never expected another answer.

“Pilot…”

Alex could not decide whether the word contained ridicule or pity, or was only the assertion of a simple fact.

Probably the latter. After all, he had never had a right to choose, ever. His parents had made the choice, nine months before he was born.

And he appreciated their decision.

The courthouse was close to the spaceport. Alex sincerely hoped that the staff would refrain from asking too many questions.

And on the whole, his hopes were realized. Half of the short line in the cozy waiting room consisted of visitors from other planets. Even among this colorful crowd, one family group stood out. They were visitors from High Valley—two tall husband-clones, naked but for their small metalized loincloths, and their plump wife, wrapped in brocade and fir. Crowding around them was a large litter of half-naked children, still too small to tell their gender. Only the eldest had a white bow in its braided hair. That was the one for sale.

A little farther off stood two Zzygou. They really did resemble two adolescent girls. Only their airtight, transparent overalls with a sealed air circulation cycle gave these odorous creatures away. Alex wondered what they were doing there. Maybe they had decided to register a marriage under Imperial law? Not likely. Zzygou didn’t have the concept of family. More likely, they were there to finalize some business transaction with humans.

Five stalwart mercenaries from Baghdad-3, looking warlike in full battle garb, their skull crests fanned open, were probably also waiting to sign some kind of contract. After all, they had no labor union of their own to make sure their agreements were issued properly.